Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): Defensive Tactics:Shaping the back 4 to play out.

Screen 1 (20 mins)

Set Up:1/2 a field with 3 gate goals on the half way line. GK, back 4 and #6 set up for the defending team.

Exercise:3 reds will start with a ball each facing their own gates. They will start to dribble back to their gates. As they do the back 4 pushes up. Coach calls 1,2 or 3 and that numbers immediately turns with the ball and clips a ball in over the top of the back 4. They must drop, recover and play out to any of the 3 goals.

Coaching Points: 

Compact, Do not concede space between defenders.

Recognize when to drop and when to press and do it together.

Transition from recovering to finding a shape to play out from the back.

Screen 3 (20 mins)

Set Up: As before but now the 3 reds are attacking the back 4 with the ball starting in a variety of positions.

Exercise: Ball my start with defence out of balance. Above we have the RB taken out of the play to permit a cross coming in from the flank and we defend from that and play out.

Ball can start from a throw-in, turnover or at the coaches discretion.

Coaching Points: Shifts when players are caught out of possession.

Where to recover to deal with crosses.

Identify and protect the dangerous areas of the field.

Remember to transition quickly to offence and find the targets at the earliest good opportunity.